


Abyssal

by HealthPotion



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Final Haikyuu Quest, Demonkawa, F/M, Final Haikyuu Quest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 16:47:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19177378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HealthPotion/pseuds/HealthPotion
Summary: "I'd trust you with my life."He snorted, "Sure you would.""...You don't believe me, do you?"He looked over to the girl sitting next to him. She was reading a book, but now her attention was on him."No offense, but it's a little hard to believe. I'm a demon, if you haven't noticed it from the everything about me.""Yeah, you are." she closed her book. "But you're also my friend."*Final Haikyuu Quest / Fantasy AU.





	Abyssal

**Author's Note:**

> • Just replace 'Yuko' with whatever name you want and you got yourself a reader fic! She's a blank slate OC as always - I'm just personally not a big fan of doing the whole [name] or y/n thing! Throws me off a little :')
> 
> • In this house we love and appreciate Demonkawa - this is a Final Haikyuu Quest thing! Also inspired by things like Skyrim, Castlevania, Witcher and all that neat magic, monster and general fantasy stuff.
> 
> •I have no specific music suggestions but I was listening to Witcher 3 soundtrack compilations the whole time I was writing this, so, there's that. It really captures the mood that I'm trying to build!
> 
> • Rating is T for now, but I marked it as M in advance as things will definitely escalate at the end of this mess B)

_“…She kept disappearing. At first, it was for a few days. Then a week, then two… She went missing for around a month until, finally, we found her, and… Well, you know the rest.”_

The forest rustled in the wind. It had just stopped raining, so the girl that was making her way through the forest took off her hood. She looked up at the sky and frowned – there were only a few hours left until the sun would set.

_“I remember her a little... She brought me and the other kids apples and other snacks a few times.”_

_“She had such a kind heart… Oh, but you were just a little girl when it happened, dear. It was today, actually… Today marks twelve years since we’ve lost her. We wish we knew what happened, but… to this day, we have no idea who, or what took her life...”_

_“That’s... why I’m here, actually. I overheard someone in town mentioning that you never found out what happened. There’s something I’d like to ask you…”_

Not many people took this road, or willingly went into the Maple Forest in general. Only trade caravans, usually well-guarded ones, would go in an out – never sole travelers. And even the traders would dread it – many would choose to take the long way around instead.

Especially after a good part of their stock would seemingly disappear for no reason during the trip.

_“What is it, dear?”_

_“Well… You know how much I want to travel-“_

_“Oh, yes, you’ve always been quite the adventurous youngster!”_

_“-…but I need a horse. And I don’t have much to offer you in exchange for one. But what if… I could find out what happened to your daughter?”_

_“Oh… Goodness, we wouldn’t even know how to repay such a favor, but what do you mean by ‘find out’? Have you heard something?”_

_“No, but… You mentioned she kept going to the Maple Forest before she disappeared.”_

The girl got off her horse. Something about the road was… off. She tied the horse to a nearby tree, praying it would still be there when she comes back. It’s not hers, after all. Yet.

…Well, _if_ she comes back.

The road kept going normally, to the next town over, she presumed. But here, although very subtly, it seemed to branch out into another tiny path. She took a closer look, and noticed the small broken branches – someone’s been here recently.

She was still uncertain about _what_ exactly she’s looking for, but having no other leads and barely any daylight left, she decided to take the path.

_“That’s too dangerous!”_

_“I know.”_

_“Not even the traders go into that horrible forest alone!”_

_“I know.”_

_“You can’t possibly be considering this?!”_

_“PLEASE.” her voice echoed through the room. “I don’t have anyone else to go to. And there’s nothing else I can do for you. I don’t have any money, so I can’t just buy a horse from you. So please, just let me do this. I’m good at this. I can handle myself.”_

_The old woman in front of her went quiet for a moment. She wanted answers more than anything, but not at the cost of someone getting hurt. Or worse._

_The woman sighed. “Just… please make sure you come back safely. I don’t want that forest to claim another life. Can you promise me that, Yuko?”_

Reds and oranges from the leaves above were giving the surroundings a warm evening glow - it was a gorgeous forest, really. But Yuko was too pre-occupied to admire it. Every bird flying off a nearby branch would startle her, making her reach for her dagger.

 _So much for being adventurous…_ she thought, cursing at herself for being so cautious. Why was she even scared?

She took a deep breath and shook her head, straightening herself off and picking up the pace again. It’s just a forest, there’s no reason to be so cautious. What’s the worst that can happen?

If it’s a wild animal, she has a bow on her back.

If it’s another person, they will either help her or she can fend them off.

If it’s a demon-

“There are no demons here, that’s just a stupid legend…” Yuko whispered, as if trying to calm herself down. “Demons live in castles, not next to random, insignificant towns, in some random forest.”

She couldn’t help it, though. As much as she tried to convince herself otherwise, all three people she talked to before leaving town said something between the lines of ‘you know there’s a demon living in that forest, right?’.

She told all three of them that that’s nonsense, with a straight face. And now look at her.

Yuko kept going for a while, looking for even the slightest clue, anything that could help her figure out what happened to her neighbors’ daughter. She won’t get to keep the horse if she doesn’t bring anything back. But the sun was close to setting, and she was running out of time – she would have to either camp out in a (probably dangerous) forest, or head back and try again tomorrow.

“What…” she whispered to herself, narrowing her eyes. As she was about to head back to her horse, something caught her eye.

A house in the distance.

And a big one, too.

The question was, friend or foe?

She put the hood of her cloak back on, and, hand hovering over her dagger, carefully moved closer. Being the only lead so far, she’d be damned if she didn’t at least check it out.

 _Why would anyone be living in the middle of Maple Forest, though..?_ she thought.

Yuko tried her best to get her friends’ words out of her mind.

_‘You know there’s a demon living in that forest, right?’_

Didn’t work.

 _It could be anyone living out here._ she thought, _And it’s not like a demon would be living in a random house like this…_

It was true – while the house was big, it was still just a stone and wood cabin. The décor was… unordinary, though.

Yuko approached the last tree she could hide behind before going any closer and narrowed her eyes.

There were two small crystals hovering next to the few steps leading up to the front door.

_Is that… magic?_

Magic wasn’t a new thing for her, but still a very unfamiliar one. She had only encountered it a couple of times in her life – no wizards or witches lived in their town.

Maybe one lived here, then?

She took another deep breath and slowly came out from behind the tree, leaving the safety of the woods behind her. If it was, for whatever reason, another person living here, they might have the answers she was looking for. And the last thing she wants to do is frighten them by showing up with a blade in her hand.

_It’s just a house. I’ll just… walk up there and knock. It’s the polite thing to do, right..?_

Still, something was eerie about it. Uncertain, she started walking towards the door.

_It’s just a house… It’s just… a house… in the middle of Maple Forest…_

She climbed up the two small steps, eyeing the crystals on the sides. They didn’t seem to do anything, they were just floating there, as a decoration, probably.

_It’s just a… strange house in the middle of Maple Forest… There’s no demon in here…_

Yuko raised her hand to knock, but stopped when she noticed that the door is, in fact, open. Only ever so slightly, but it was. She lightly pushed on it inside, making it emit a small creaking noise.

“…Hello?”

She took off her hood and started looking around the entrance. There was a flight of stairs leading to the second floor in the middle, and a few doors on the right– some open, some closed. There was also a small dining table in the middle, though it was completely empty, aside from a lone candelabra sitting on it.

_There’s no demon in here…_

The candles were lit, and it was the only light source around. There were some windows to her left, but those had their curtains closed.

Someone was clearly living here. Someone must have been here recently to light those candles. But no one was answering her.

_There’s… no demon…_

The most worrying part, though, was that she felt like she was being watched.

Yuko slowly looked around, hovering her hand over her dagger again. If it was someone friendly, they would have answered her.

She tried her best to stop her heart from speeding up. They could be outside. Yeah, let’s check outside. Outside seems much safer right about now.

_There’s…_

She turned around, but a single step towards the door caused it to shut with a loud thud. No one was there to cause it, meaning it had to be another case of magic.

Yuko grabbed the dagger from her belt and instinctively took a defensive stance. Someone had to be here.

_…no…_

Unfortunately for her, she was right.

“My, you’re an amateur one, aren’t you?”

Yuko gasped and turned around towards the voice that came behind her, her eyes going wide.

Illuminated by candles, he was sitting behind the table, using one hand to rest his chin. He looked like a normal human being. Well, except for the horns.

_…DEMON._

And there goes the light.

Yuko couldn’t see a thing. She only got a glimpse of whoever or _whatever_ was sitting there before the candles suddenly went out – she started panicking, turning towards every little sound around her.

“You know, it’s almost insulting...” came from her right.

“…a demon hunter steps into my home and starts off with ‘hello’.” came from her left.

“You’re either very brave… or very stupid.” came from her right again.

Yuko heard the sound of glass shattering somewhere and caught a glimpse of something green flashing in the dark.

“Either way,” his voice, light as a feather, came from right behind her as he grabbed her wrists and restrained them behind her with one hand, and put the other on her mouth right before she was about to scream, “let’s see how well this works on you.”

The sound of her dagger hitting the floor accompanied the excruciating pain in her neck as he sunk his fangs in.

_I’m gonna die here._

And then, just a moment later, it was over. The pain was gone, he let her go, and the candles were lit once again. She stumbled forward a little, grabbing hold of her neck, breathing heavily.

Yuko spun around and found the demon leisurely sitting on one of the chairs next to the table again, resting his head on his arm.

“Go on, I’ll even give you a head start.” he teased. Yuko could see traces of her blood on the corner of his mouth.

The girl furrowed her brows, still breathing heavily and still _very_ much panicking. Her dagger was somewhere on the poorly lit floor, and the last thing she wanted to do was to get near him, so she reached behind her and quickly drew her bow, taking aim at him.

“Give me your best shot.” the demon smirked.

A moment later, he saw her eyes flick between the bow and him. He gave her a second before continuing. “…You can’t, right?”

She wasn’t sure why, but he was right. She couldn’t let go of the arrow.

“What…” Yuko spoke up, trying to stop her voice from shaking, “What did you do to me?”

“Oh, I’m just testing a few things. I thought you’d be at least a little more thankful that wasn’t like your usual demon bite, though, seeing as you’re completely incapable of defending yourself.”

The confusion in her face was starting to confuse him, too, and he raised a brow at her silence.

Yuko had no idea what a ‘usual’ demon bite was supposed to mean, and she didn’t want to find out. He was right, there was no way she can defend herself. So she didn’t even try.

The girl dropped the arrow and quickly spun around, making a run for it and throwing the bow over her shoulder as she sprinted towards the door. It was a desperate attempt, but it was the only thing her fight or flight response could come up with.

Obviously, the door was locked. She tried to force the door knob but to no avail.

“What kind of demon hunter runs at the first sight of danger?”

Yuko spun around and pressed her back to the door, wising she could sink straight into it. His face was inches away from hers. She froze in place as he put one of his hands on the door right next to her head, and reached up to her chin with the other one to gently raise her head up.

Seeing his terrifying crimson red eyes up close was making Yuko hope that this is all just a dream and that she’s about to wake up.

That wasn’t going to happen, though.

He squinted, raising a brow at her again. “In fact, you look like you’ve never even seen a demon before. Either your guildmaster really doesn’t like you, sending you after _me_ when you’re clearly under-prepared…”

He appraised her for a moment, eyeing her attire and overall appearance.

“Or, more likely… You’re not a demon hunter at all, are you?” he asked.

Yuko shook her head just barely. Was she still breathing? Also, was this a good, or a bad thing, not being a demon hunter? Would he let her go and laugh it off like some minor misunderstanding?

“So that’s why you’re so bad at this… I’d ask what you’re doing _here_ of all places, but honestly, I don’t really care.” His lips curved into a smirk, the most devilish smirk Yuko had ever seen, almost a seducing one. “What matters is that you’re here… and that I’ve never had such a pretty, well-behaved lab rat before.”

_LAB RAT?!_

Becoming someone’s _specimen_ , or whatever it was that he was implying, sounded a lot worse than dying at this point. Yuko’s mind was a mess so she acted purely upon instinct, without thinking any of the following actions through.

She raised her leg…

“Get-“ and kicked him in the stomach. “-AWAY FROM ME!”

She kicked a _literal demon_ in the stomach. Smart.

Surprisingly, it worked. Yuko heard him groan as he stepped back and clutched his stomach. It was only for a moment, and it only worked because he didn’t expect her to fight back, but it was enough of a distraction for her to run away.

She ran past him and sprinted up the stairs, darting to the right towards a corridor. Why does this house seem a lot bigger on the inside than it looked like on the outside?

The door downstairs was locked, so trying a window upstairs was her best bet. That, and just maybe Yuko could lose him for just a few seconds by hiding in one of the rooms.

The demon downstairs sighed. It didn’t hurt, no, but she took him off guard so easily that it was a little embarrassing.

“Guess ‘well-behaved’ is off the list…” he grumbled, going after her. He wasn’t in a hurry – where was the girl gonna go, anyway? There are only so many rooms she could be hiding in.

On the contrary, Yuko was very much in a hurry and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She saw the corridor coming to an end, so she darted into a random room on her left and shut the door behind her quietly, hoping to buy herself some time.

She spun around and scanned the room. First word that came to mind: dust. Lots and lots of dust. It seemed like a storage closet for old things – furniture, paintings, those sorts of things.

The second word to come to her mind was light, oh my goodness, _light!.._ There was a window at the end of the small room! She ran to it, hoping it wouldn’t be locked, and to end her streak of bad luck, it wasn’t. She opened the window, and glanced down – it was a dangerous jump, but no more dangerous than staying behind and trying to face _whatever_ was chasing after her.

Yuko put her foot on the windowsill and glanced back out of pure instinct, but the door was still closed. She exhaled in relief – this was the first glimpse of hope that she might actually make it out of here alive.

As she was turning her head back to the window, something else caught her attention. Something she wasn’t expecting to find here, of all places.

“What…” she whispered to herself, squinting and taking her foot off the windowsill. She stepped towards the small stack of paintings that were leaning on a wall. They were all paintings of him, the very same demon she’s been trying to escape from and…

“Mei..?”

Mr. and Mrs. Saito’s daughter. The girl she had been looking for answers about.

Thing is, Yuko didn’t expect to find an answer like _this_ one.

The paintings were all of the two of them. Mei and the demon. Yuko was trying to process what exactly she’s looking at.

They look happy. In some paintings, they’re laughing. In most paintings, they’re holding hands.

“Holy shit…”

In all paintings, they look _in love._

Yuko shook her head, this was a little too much to handle. Were these really _life_ paintings, or were they just… artist’s renditions? Because the thing that was chasing her did _not_ have a genuine smile like he does in the paintings. Was Mei manipulated into this? There’s no way she could have willingly-..? Was he keeping her here under some spell? It had to be a spell. And what about her death? They found her just outside the forest, she had clearly been attacked, stabbed in the stomach, but… Was it him? Did she try to run away and he-..?

Yuko shook her head _again_ – she didn’t have the luxury to theorize what happened, not now. Dangerous or not, she still had a job to do.

_But I can’t… bring THIS back…_

She flipped through the paintings quickly, praying that the door won’t swing open for at least a few more minutes, and found one which was just a portrait of Mei, alone. She grabbed it from the stack – not only was it smaller and easier to carry, it was also going to be a lot easier to explain to the Saito family how Yuko found a portrait of her, rather than _romantic paintings_ of their daughter and a _literal demon_.

If Yuko’s head was already spinning from processing that information, then Mrs. Saito would have an actual heart attack.

_Just a few more minutes…_

Yuko looked around and found some rope – from an old curtain, perhaps? – which she then tied around the painting and her body. The painting wouldn’t survive the fall, and she can’t just hold it while jumping out of a second floor window. The girl took a deep breath, positioning herself for a moment – she got both her legs out and looked down. There was plenty of grass to soften her fall, but it was still a pretty intimidating height.

“There you are- HE̜̣̜̕Y̲͡.”

The last part sounded more like a growl than your casual ‘hey’. Yuko gasped at the familiar voice, glanced back and regretted the action immediately – his _expression_. His crimson eyes zeroed in on her, pupils going sharp, like a cat’s. Holy shit, he was probably just toying with her before – now he _actually_ looked like he was gonna kill her.

His murderous look gave her more than enough motivation to jump out the window.

Yuko reached the ground with a loud thud, stumbling a little – it hurt, but it was minimal. If she hadn’t jumped then and there, she’d be dead – she could have sworn she felt his hand run through her hair strands for a split second as she fell.

She heard him hiss and glanced back – he had backed away from the window slightly, trying to shade his face with his forearms from the sun.

_Sunlight! He can’t deal with sunlight!.. I thought that was a vampire thing…_

Instinctively, Yuko looked at the horizon. Her tiny streak of luck ends here - the sun was setting. She scrambled to her feet and made a run for it, glancing at her pocket compass and darting towards the direction she came from.

 

“ T̲͇̫̯̪̯͊̈̐͢H͖̳ͮ̈ͦ̌͝Ȋ͉̮̩̘̙͋S͇̫̙̞͒͑̍ ̌̄Í̄ͨͩS͚͚̗̠͍̄͑̎͌ͬ̉̚N̠̘̘̋̎̈́ͨͦ̓̽͡'̣̣̘̥̻̲ͥ̉̀̆͐ͤ̍T̴̯̳̗̠̲̘̋̍̅ ̧̞̰̺̲͎̙̖̈̈ͥO̊̓̐̂͒V̴͚͓͓̜̼̬̭̉Ẻ҉̱Ŗ̮.̥̠̟̭̦ͧ̿͢ ”

_What the HELL was that?!_

Whatever he had just yelled behind her, whatever that demonic language was, it made both her heart _and_ her legs speed up. She sprinted through the forest, pushing stray branches from her way, praying that she’s going the right way and that the main road would show up soon.

And it did. She glanced to the left, then the right – her horse! It was still there, just a little up ahead! She nearly started crying from happiness – but oh, this wasn’t the time to get emotional. She still needed to get out of the forest before it’s completely dark.

Yuko didn’t waste a moment – she hopped on and was on her way home, scanning the direction she just came from.

_No sight of him…_

The amount of the sun that was already behind the horizon, though, was making her nervous. If sunlight was the only thing stopping him from going after her, she didn’t have much time.

“Go, Silver, come on…” she urged her horse, which was already going as fast as it can.

Yuko’s eyes kept jumping between the road in front of her, the road behind her, and the sun. With a little bit of downtime to think, the sinking realization was kicking in.

_What was I thinking…_

She wasn’t thinking, really. Overwhelmed with panic and adrenaline, she stole something from a demon, a creature _so_ powerful that there’s barely any information on them, since most people who encounter one wind up dead.

Yuko tightened her grip on the reins, the reality of what she had done strangling her.

No, this wasn’t the time. She can have all her regrets at home, in her warm bed, once this is all over. Right now she just needed to get to safety.

Yuko and her horse continued sprinting through the forest for a while, trampling the ground underneath with loud thuds every step of the way. Just a little longer, town can’t be far now.

The girl looked at the horizon again. There was only a sliver of sunlight left. She couldn’t take her eyes off it, almost masochistically watching it dip under the horizon. Her heart sped up at the sight – this was it. There was nothing left to hold that _creature_ from following her.

Her eyes shifted back to the road in front of her. She remembers this place. The big stump on her right, the fallen tree right next to it – she was close to town. And he still had to catch up with her.

“Please, just hang on a little longer, Silver…” she urged her horse again, as if it can understand her.

Did it always get dark so quickly?

It was getting hard to see where to go. Lone fireflies were emerging from the lush forest around her – she’d stop an admire them if her life wasn’t on the line. Bit of a shame such a gorgeous forest is also so deadly.

Yuko squinted at the fireflies in front of her that seemed to have warmer colors than the rest – those were no fireflies, it’s the town! Her eyes widened – it was still far off, but she could _see_ it. _Safety._

Well, allegedly. The demon might as well follow her into town, but they were well guarded and certainly more people would make it easier to deal with him.

That, or she could be dooming her entire town.

Yuko swallowed harshly and shook her head. Regrets later, escape now. There was no turning back at this point.

She glanced back one more time, but no one _seemed_ to be there. It was so dark, she had no idea if she’s being followed or not. Did he give up? The look that he had in his eyes when she ran off…

 

“ Tͦ̀͆͐̽̚͢Ȉ̧̱̟͈̜̲̻̞̍M̷̬̭̹͇̒ͭͫ̇̋̑E̤͔̜ͫ͋̏̑̀'̤̌̇̔̑̀͢S͗ͦ̓ͥ͊̚̕ ̣̘͚̮̗̫U͚ͫ̊ͮ̌͆̄͘P̰̞͒͛ͤͥ͟, ̼̟̱͆̎ͪͥ͐̐S̝̼̿̈́͐̑ͤ͞W͎ͫ̐͒̐͟Ể͖̯̜̜̠̍͗̎ͨ̄E̡ͩT̲͕̻̓ͮ̿͟Ḥ̤͇̱̯̭͒̒̀E̵̺̖͇͉̯̿ͨA̲̭̥̙̻ͤ̄ͭ̔͑̊R̪͕͖͔͗͂ͮ͌̄T̪̹̫̹ ͖̮̩̌͌-̗̘͓ ̦̣̙̼̘͎̩Ȳ̧͕̖̥̫Ợ̙ͭ͂ͭ̑U̘̒̈͛̒͞'̥͇ͤ̂̒̑̇̌R̪͗E͚ͭ ͖̗̥͚͍͋͆ͣͤͅM̦͓͇̣̺̗ͦ̅ͅȊͯ̐͒N̬̳̦̮̤̙Ę̭͈͍̩͉̮.̥͔͔̖̏̽̏ͮ “

 

That terrifying language again, words that seemed to rip through her entire essence. She gasped and glanced back, eyes widening – a pitch black mist was chasing after her. And it was closing in on her.

In a desperate attempt, Yuko grabbed her bow and an arrow. It’s all she had. Anything to give her even a sliver of extra time, she was so close…

She spun around, drawing her bow and releasing it to the general direction of the black mist. To her horror, the mist solidified in a split second, right before the arrow would hit it, and she watched the demon catch the arrow with ease and break it in his hand.

 

“ I͓̹̫̠̓̐́́ͤ͞T̥̹͎ͩ̽̏'̧̹́ͭ̌S̰̥͉̳̩ͨ̉̄̄͋ ̜͙̟͕͔͔͗̆̀͌̑ͫ͗A̧̹͇L͇͖͟M̳̗̘̎̎̅̒̍O̗̪̣̠̰͆ͩ͊̍̋̚͢S̱̏ͤ̿̿͋͑͒T̥̞̝̹̼ ͉̬̺̙̐̇͛ͦͤ̅C̱̖̝̏͒̊ͯU̩̣͊̈̄T͇̙́Ḛ̤͓ͦ̑̇̅͠ ̫̠̹̟̯͎͍̃ͧH̪̟͕̯͇̲͋̐̃͒̚O͔̤̱͖͗W̞̫̬̖̃̈́̾̀̄͢ ̢ͥD̘̺͕̠̫̩̣̽ͯͨ͑̂̉Ē̡̼̥͔͛̿̓̌ͧS͍͉̣̰ͪP͓̱̮͂̍͋̒̋Ḙ̸̙̜̠̬R͈͉̣ͨ̋̅͢Ą̤̺͕T̶͕̞̩̥̦͉̔͗̑Ë͕̭̟́̌̐̐̍͗ ̯̕ͅY̏ͧͥ̋Ǫ̩̘͖̥̜̖ͨͧ̽͌ͮͭU̹̲̦̼̗ͪͥ ̸͓̫̬̪̣A̞ͫ̾͆ͫ̿͑͟R͈̻̙̍̄ͫ̊͌E̶̫̘̳͕͕̜̱͆.̺̬̙̤̮̼̓ͪ̏̓ “ he growled, turning into mist again.

 

“Go, GO!” Yuko turned her attention back to the road ahead, urging her horse to go faster. She kept glancing behind, watching the mist get closer and closer with every second.

Finally, another sight of hope. Traders.

“Oh my- HEY!” she yelled out to the trading caravan up ahead. They must have been fresh out of the forest themselves. “RUN! There’s a demon behind me, run!”

They were at the very edge of the forest; Yuko couldn’t believe she made it and she was too terrified to look behind her. She may have just brought death upon some innocent traders, but she had never been this relieved to see another human being. She startled them, but they didn’t seem to run away screaming, for some reason.

“What are you doing, run!” she yelled again, approaching them. Her horse got a little spooked, stopping dead in its tracks and rearing. “Shit- he’s right behind me!”

“Whoa, whoa,” one of the traders approached her, calming down both her and her horse. “Calm down there, lass! There’s nothing behind you!”

“I- what..?” Yuko looked back. The trader was right – there was nothing behind her. But she was getting the same feeling of being watched, the same she had back at the house, and boy did it feel ominous. “But… there was a demon, he was chasing me and-“

“Demon? Oh for goodness sakes, not another one…” the trader said – not with horror in his voice, but rather mild annoyance.

“Wh- another demon? There’s more than-“

“No! Another one of you lunatics!” he spat, surprising Yuko, “Every week we have some village idiot try and stop us from going through Maple Forest because ‘there’s a demon living there’ – it’s annoying! We’ve been taking this road for years, and just like I’ve told your lunatic friends before – there is no. Demon. Living. In. The forest.” he articulated.

“But I-“

“Listen, lass,” he cut her off and sighed, “I’m sorry I sound harsh, but we are so sick of hearing about this. Go home and get some sleep.” he stepped back and had another look at her, “You don’t look like the usual idiots who approach us about this – maybe you’ve just had a little bit too much to drink? Or whatever it is that you’re on, maybe don’t go adventuring when you’re… y’know, hallucinating?”

Yuko’s words got stuck in her throat – clearly, they weren’t going to believe her. But… they were also not being attacked, and the demon was no longer in pursuit of her. She looked around for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

_Then why do I still feel like I’m being watched…_

She pulled on the reins and left the traders behind without a word, heading towards town.

“Hey- lass..! Ah, she’s gone…” the trader muttered, “…Weird people living in Maplewood… Never gets boring, I swear…”

* * *

 

Yuko sat on her bed, staring at the painting in her hands. She got home safely, yet she didn’t feel safe at all. The feeling could only be compared to the feeling you get when you ignore that big spider sitting in the corner of your room, and then when you check on it a moment later, it’s gone. You don’t know where the spider went. You don’t know if and when the spider is gonna come back. You don’t know if the spider has any unfinished business with you.

The girl took her hundredth deep breath in the past half an hour. She had to go see Mr. and Mrs. Saito at some point, and she’d been trying to figure out what exactly she can tell them before she comes over.

Mei was disappearing to the forest because she was, by the looks of it, romantically involved with a demon. Voluntarily or not, she didn’t know. Yuko found this painting in his house, amongst others, deep in Maple Forest. She ran away from the demon and brought it back, he was following her, and while he seemed to give up last minute, she might still be in danger because of it.

No.

Mei was seeing someone in the next town- city, the next city over, Everstone. Yuko asked around town and met that someone, delivered the unfortunate news of Mei’s passing, and he gave her this painting to bring home to Mei’s family. He doesn’t know what happened to Mei, either, and wasn’t aware of her death, though he was expecting it seeing how many years had passed after she disappeared. Mei didn’t mention where she was from, so he didn’t know where to go looking for her.

Right.

They weren’t malicious, the lies. They were an educated decision. Both Mr. and Mrs. Saito were old, the husband more so. They didn’t have much of their lives left to enjoy – the last thing the fairly religious family needed to hear was that their daughter was involved with a demon.

When Yuko spoke to them, it seemed that they were more after the feeling of peace, than the truth.

One more deep, shaky breath later Yuko stood up and wrapped the painting in some fabric, then put it under her arm. The Saitos didn’t live far from her, thankfully, but still… just opening the door was a challenge.

You don’t know where the spider went. Could be right behind the door, waiting.

_I just need to get to the Saito stables… It’ll only take a few minutes…_

Yuko lived between the center of town and the stables, where the Saito family ran their business – the sun had only just set, so people were still out an about, enjoying their daily lives, completely unaware of the otherworldly danger that could be looming over their heads.

Eventually, Yuko worked up the nerve to open the door and step outside. The sight of people around was making her feel a little safer. She made her way to the Saito residence near the stables, quickly, but not enough to startle the people around her.

She kept glancing around – the feeling of being watched was slowly coming back. Finally, she reached the house she was after and hesitantly knocked on the door. Yuko waited a little while, pacing in one place impatiently, until the door slowly opened.

“Yuko! Oh thank goodness you’re okay… It’s late, I was getting worried…” Mrs. Saito greeted her.

The sight of this sweet, old woman was both a blessing and a curse.

“Yeah, I’m… fine. Told you I’d be careful.” Yuko tried to laugh it off as best she could. She was _far_ from okay. “Can I, um, come in? I need to talk to you.”

“Of course, of course.” Mrs. Saito ushered her in. Yuko took one last cautious glance behind her and followed her in.

“Where’s Mr. Saito? I need to talk to the both of you.” Yuko asked.

“Oh, he’s not feeling well, dear. He’s fallen asleep early today, but I’ll make sure to pass anything important on to him in the morning.” she sat down, so did Yuko, “What is it that’s bothering you, dear?” she paused for a moment, “It can’t be that you’ve… found something?”

“I… sort of.” Yuko murmured, taking the painting in her hands and unwrapping it. She gave the girl in the picture one more look and turned it around to show Mrs. Saito. “This is her, isn’t it?”

Mrs. Saito gasped silently, bringing a hand to her mouth. Slowly, tears started running down her cheeks – the sight was making Yuko hold back the lump in her throat, too.

“Mei… My sweet, sweet girl…” she brought her hands to the painting, taking it from Yuko to have a closer look. “It’s her, it’s our little girl… Yuko, dear, where did you find this?”

Yuko sunk in her seat a little. She knew this question was coming.

“I’m… I found it in Everstone.” she started. Lying to this sweet, old woman felt horrible, but… the alternative was worse. It was questionable if she would even _believe_ the alternative.

“Everstone? The city on the other side of Maple forest, to the west?” Yuko nodded. “We… tried looking there, many years ago… How did you find this, where..?”

One more quiet deep breath later, Yuko continued. “I didn’t find anything in the forest… So I continued on to Everstone. I was asking around town and eventually, I… found someone Mei had been seeing. He lives in Everstone. I found him and we talked for a while – he didn’t know Mei had… passed away. He was expecting it, though, with how many years had passed and all. He said Mei never mentioned where she was from, so he didn’t know where to even begin looking. He… doesn’t know what happened, either. But he wanted me to bring this back to you – he wanted you to have something you could remember her by. They…” Yuko paused, eyes focused on the floor, “They had a few paintings of them together. They um… looked happy.”

She looked up when she noticed Mrs. Saito getting up. To her surprise, she was smiling. She took the painting with her and went to the fireplace, then started clearing out the items on it, making space for the painting. With her back facing Yuko, she spoke up:

“The little rascal… Of course she didn’t want us to know she was seeing someone, we were quite strict with her you know!” she chuckled. “He sounds like a wonderful young man, though. What was his name?”

Yuko’s eye’s widened slightly – ah, she hadn’t thought of a name for him!

“Oikawa.”

The girl’s eyes widened even more and she brought her hand to her mouth.

_Why did I just say that?!_

Mrs. Saito was finished with the painting, so she turned around, making Yuko force herself back into a normal composure, despite the fact that her heart sped up like mad just now. She didn’t think of that name herself, it was like her mouth moved on its own for a second. Something didn’t feel right.

“Well, if you ever see him again… tell him thank you. For the painting, and for looking after our daughter when she was still here.”

“Will do.” Yuko’s smile was almost forced. “Oh, and I’ll bring Silver back tomorrow morning, I completely forgot to bring him over now…”

“Oh, dearest, no.” Mrs. Saito took Yuko’s hands in her own. “You’ve earned that horse – it’s yours now.”

“What?” Yuko’s eyes widened, “But I didn’t… I didn’t find out what happened and-“

“Yuko, my dear,” she interrupted, “You’ve brought us more than we could ever ask for. I thought I’d never see my Mei again, but thanks to you, I have. And,” she looked over to the painting, “we’ll be able to greet our daughter every morning now.”

Yuko went quiet, so Mrs. Saito continued after a sigh, “I know how you are - I can tell you still don’t feel right taking the horse. So how about this, I have one more small favor to ask, if I may.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“But I will only ask if you promise me that this will make us even for the horse. After you do this, it’s yours.” the old lady smiled.

“But-“

“No buts!”

Yuko chuckled; there really was no arguing with Mrs. Saito when she gets like this. “Okay, okay – what is it that you want me to do?”

She let go of Yuko’s hands and went over to a nearby shelf, which had some flowers sitting on it in a vase. Yuko doesn’t remember those being there when she left earlier today.

“Mei rests at the Maplewood cemetery, near the southern gate.”

A strong gust of wind blew through the window all of a sudden, nearly blowing out the candles on the other side of the room. “Goodness me, it’s been getting quite windy lately.”

Yuko furrowed her brows a little. That didn’t feel like your regular gust of wind. Then again, she might be paranoid considering all that happened.

“Here, take these.” Yuko turned her attention to Mrs. Saito again, who was handing her a bouquet of flowers. “We visit her every Sunday, but I’ve been tending to my husband all day and we haven’t had the chance to do that today - my old bones aren’t what they used to be.” she chuckled, “Could you please take these to her? They’re hydrangeas; I picked them earlier today from our garden. They were Mei’s favorite flowers.”

Yuko nodded, taking the bouquet from her.

“And don’t let me see you trying to bring Silver back, got it?” she scolded Yuko in advance.

The girl sighed. “Yes, ma’am…”

She headed towards the door, glancing back at the old woman behind her one more time. “I’m… sorry that I can’t tell you more.”

Mrs. Saito smiled. “You’ve told and done enough. Don’t be sorry for making an old lady happy.”

Yuko smiled back at her and went out the door. Strangely enough, the feeling of being watched was long gone.

* * *

 

“So this is where you’ve been all these years.”

The man crouched down and put the flowers he had in front of him. He sighed and continued after a pause.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come looking for you sooner. I guess I… knew that this is where I’d find you. And I didn’t want to see it for myself. I wanted to believe you’re somewhere out there, living your best life. But you’re not, you’re here. I knew you were.”

A pause.

“I feel bad that I feel bitter, I really do. You’re really gone, and I’m here feeling bitter. I guess it’s been so long that I’ve accepted it by now. It’s just… even after so many years, I still keep finding out about the precautions you’ve been taking around me. I saw your parents just now, you know. Well, your mother, anyway. Turns out you’re not from an orphanage after all.”

A sigh.

“What was I going to do? You really thought I would have hurt them? If I would have known, they could have had that painting of yours years ago, not _now_ when some random girl decided to steal it from me. And yes, I attacked her, and yes, I know you would say your usual ‘this is why people don’t like you’, but she was the one trespassing, you know.”

A pout. A sniffle.

“I almost wish I hadn’t followed her, but that was my favorite portrait of you. How was I supposed to know what she was going to do with it?.. And now here I am, at your grave, talking to absolutely no one. Here I am, finding out about more precautions, like how you had family that was very much alive, and… that your name isn’t even Asami, it’s Mei. You really made sure that I couldn’t even come looking for you when you left for good.”

A pause. Another sigh. A voice laced with even more bitterness than before.

“You know what hurts the most? That you kept saying you trust me. It’s fine not to trust me, I’m a demon, I get it. But lying about it, making me feel like for once, someone can-.. Just-.. Ugh.”

He rubbed his eyes on the fabric of his sleeve.

“Sorry… You’re gone and I’m scolding you. You can tell that I learned from the best.”

A bittersweet laugh.

“I know we had our differences, and I wish it hadn’t ended this way. I know it would have ended somehow, considering how incompatible we were. And that’s fine. You would have never been truly open with me… and you would have never been truly happy. Even I don’t know what comes after death, but… wherever it is that you’ve went, I hope you’re happy.”

A few droplets of rain came down, though he didn’t notice them. He stayed for a little while in silence, ignoring the people walking past every so often. It was Sunday, so the cemetery had more visitors than usual, but it was quiet either way.

Right before the man was about to get up and leave, the silence around him was disturbed by a familiar voice.

“Excuse me?”

* * *

 

Yuko made her way to the cemetery, feeling surprisingly safer than before. She kept her guard up, but this was still better than having an ominous feeling constantly linger around her.

It was dark, the streets were only illuminated by lanterns, and so was the cemetery. She would have preferred to do this in the morning, but to her, Mrs. Saito’s request was a priority. She still felt bad for taking the horse – that woman better be prepared for endless small favors because Yuko wasn’t going to let it go. Not after she essentially lied her way through the whole evening.

It made Mrs. Saito happy, but… was this really the right thing to do?

Yuko sighed and continued on her way. She was past the southern gate – she actually knew where Mei was resting, having visited her before with Mrs. Saito a few years back. As she approached the grave, she noticed a shadowy figure crouching next to it already.

A friend of Mei’s? Another relative?

“Excuse me? Sorry, I didn’t expect anyone else to-..”

The man turned his head around, and she trailed off when his widening eyes met her own.

Brown hair that was messed up by the wind. Brown eyes that looked like they had tears in them recently. He looked like a normal human being, no horns, no fangs, no red eyes… but after today, she would never forget his face.

Yuko’s eyes widened to match his own and she took a step back.

“...It’s _you_ …”

The demon furrowed his brows and pressed his lips together, then quickly stood up and backed away himself. In a split second he was gone, turning into black mist and darting towards the forest, leaving Yuko behind to deal with the familiar gust of wind that the action caused.

Yuko looked around – there were a few people further away, but all of them were focused on visiting their late loved ones. None of them saw what happened.

Her heart was racing like mad – how is she still alive?

_He fled... He had me right here, and he fled… And where are his horns and…_

The girl eyed Mei’s grave. Flowers were already there.

Hydrangeas.

_Did he..?_

Her eyes shifted towards the forest again as she placed her own flowers next to the ones that were already there.

This demon… there were a lot of words she could use to describe him. Scary, terrifying, intimidating, dangerous, powerful - all the usual words for demons. But there was also the word 'strange'. 'Confusing', even.

She did what she was told and quickly turned back, heading home. It was probably a moment of weakness, best not to make herself an easy target if he decides to come back.

Yuko made her way through the streets, keeping a fast pace. The sound of laughter and people casually chatting sounded so surreal to her all of a sudden – she almost died today, on several occasions. She couldn’t even tell anyone – the traders already called her a lunatic, and because it’s a known fact that most who encounter a demon don’t survive… no one would believe her.

Eventually, the girl reached her house. It was a small cabin that her parents left her. A sigh of relief escaped her lips – her warm bed and a warm drink sounded heavenly right now. She unlocked the door and stepped in. Everything looked just like how she left it, except for something getting caught in her peripheral vision.

She closed the door behind her, her heart beating faster for the five hundredth time today.

Her dagger. The one she left behind at the demon’s house. It was stabbed into the door-frame with a note attached.

Yuko brought her shaky hand to it, tearing it off the sharp point of the dagger.

“If you keep your mouth shut, I’ll leave you alone.

That’s a promise.

But if you tell a single living soul about me, I will _end you._

I know where you live, if that wasn’t obvious.

\- Oikawa.”

That _name._ That’s the same name… He must have made her say it back at Mrs. Saito’s…

Yuko couldn’t tell anyone about him in the first place, but this note made sure that she also couldn’t sleep for the next two weeks.

* * *

 

Oikawa kept his promise. For weeks, months even, Yuko was extremely cautious. She would try not to stay out long past sunset. She would sleep with a dagger under her pillow. She kept checking up on the Saitos to make sure he didn’t go after them because of the painting, and, to her relief, he seemed to have lost interest in getting it back.

Eventually, she settled down – if he really wanted her dead, he would have already killed her. Living with a burden like that wasn’t fun - not being able to tell anyone had the information boiling in her head for a very long time, but eventually she started getting over it. She began taking longer trips out of town and staying out longer in general, instead of being cooped up at home the moment the sun hit the horizon. She even took a trip to Everstone through Maple Forest at some point – it was terrifying and definitely brought some unpleasant memories back, but she did it.

That being said, he wasn’t entirely out of her life.

Oikawa didn’t _approach_ her ever since, but she _did_ see the demon three more times over the years.

The first time was during the Hallowed Nights festival, two years after their initial meeting.

Yuko, nineteen years old, with a witch’s hat and a witch’s dress, was munching down on a candy apple during her absolute favorite festival of the year. Ah, Hallowed Nights, where everyone, young or old or in between, would dress up as menacing creatures, as their favorite heroes, or even as their neighbor to play a prank on them. The streets would be lit with lanterns, and the whole town would gather to eat and drink and dance away their troubles around the bonfire.

The costumes, the music and the food were the best parts about Hallowed Nights.

“Mmh, you gotta try this!” Yuko, now done with the candy apple, was already grabbing a new snack – a milk bread bun made by none other than Yui, the absolute best baker in town. Yui’s cart would be the busiest one every year – she was in the town square all year round and she would be busy every day, but Hallowed Nights was her most profitable weekend.

Yuko gave split the bun into equal pieces, sharing it with her friends. “Yui, how do you keep making these better and better?”

“You ask me every year – I told you, just come to the bakery sometime, I can teach you.” the girl behind the food cart said.

“But I don’t wanna do the ba-“

“-the baking, I just wanna do the eating, yeah, I know.” Yui interrupted, while Yuko was doing a comical pouty face. “Get outta here before I put you to work against your own will.”

Yuko snickered and turned back to her friends, still hanging around the bakery cart while Yui was working. She laughed along with her friends, enjoying her evening, talking about something between the lines of ‘I work, it’s just that the kitchen isn’t my kind of space’.

“There she is - my favorite person in Maplewood! How are you, Yui?”

A chill ran down Yuko’s spine as she heard the voice behind her. The fact that, even after two years, she could recognize his voice in a split second somehow didn’t surprise her at all. Yuko glanced behind her – lo and behold, it was her old _demon friend_ , talking to her _human friend_ as casually as one would on a regular evening.

Except this time, he had his horns back and everything. He looked just like the first time she met him.

Yuko’s eyes widened and she turned back to her friends, hoping he isn’t aware that she’s standing pretty much right next to him. Why isn’t anyone saying anything, though?!

“Oikawa! I knew I’d see you eventually. Honestly, aren’t you tired of doing the same costume every year?”

Wait, costume..? Oh, right.

Yuko had seen at least 7 other ‘demons’ already, it’s Hallowed Nights. That’s why he’s strolling around between human beings without a care in the world.

“Nah, not at all. I put so much time into it to make it look realistic, I don’t think I have the patience to do it again.” he laughed.

“Still not gonna tell me how you make your eyes red?” Yui asked.

“Nope. Never have, never will.” he teased, “Now please, tell me you still have some of those milk buns left.”

“Oh, honey, I keep a spare basket for you behind the cart every year, you don’t even have to ask.”

Yuko was listening in on the conversation, trying to comprehend what is _with_ that casual demeanor. Did he… seriously come over just to buy those milk buns? Do demons eat human food? Do demons even _need_ to eat?!

“Here you go, all yours. You know, you’re always welcome here, all year round, I barely ever see you outside of Hallowed Nights.”

Oikawa took the basket from her, inhaling the sweet scent of the buns, “I know, I know, but I’ve told you, I work in the daytime. By the time I’m done, and by the time I get here from Everstone, your shop is long closed.”

“Then let me send them over with the trade caravan.” Yui argued, “I know how much you like them, I kinda feel bad you only get them on Hallowed Nights. And, I suppose those few times you came over during the winter.”

“Yui, I told you, it’s fine.” he chuckled, paying her, “I don’t want them to lose their charm, it’s a treat I can look forward to every year.”

“You’re a mystery, you know that? Honestly… That job of yours is gonna kill you, it can’t possibly be healthy to never be out in the sun like that?”

Oikawa laughed, taking the basket and waving her goodbye, “It’s fine, I’m more of a night owl anyway… Nice seeing you, Yui!”

“Take care! Hi, how can I help you?”

Yui directed her attention towards another customer as he left the cart behind. Yuko watched him walk away, and sink his fangs into one of the newly bought milk buns.

“Yuko? Hello?”

“Hm, what?” she turned back to her friends who had been calling out to her.

“Are you okay? You look pale…”

“Oh, um, no!.. I mean yes. Yeah, I’m fine, I just… thought I saw someone I knew.” she mumbled. “You go on ahead, I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

Yuko left her confused friends behind and started trailing Oikawa. She was the only person in the entire town that knew he was a real demon – it made her feel like she needs to keep an eye on him.

Well, maybe that was just an elaborate excuse for Yuko to satisfy her curiosity.

_Just what exactly are you here for..?_

But alas, trailing him uncovered nothing – if anything, his behavior was only confusing her further. He went around buying snacks from different carts and market stalls. He had drinks with random strangers, even joined into their drunk singing at one point. When a few kids started pulling on his cloak, Yuko’s heart sunk and she almost wanted to rush over to get them off him – but, to her surprise, he laughed it off and entertained them, pretending to scare them as they ran away laughing.

He _smiled_ at the kids running off, for goodness' sake.

For a moment, Yuko started doubting whether that’s really him. But it was – there’s no way she would forget his face or his voice. That’s no costume, that’s the real thing.

Which was why seeing him genuinely smile like that was a little… unsettling, even.

Eventually, Yuko gave up and left to find her friends, leaving him to blend in with the crowd and enjoy the rest of the night.

* * *

 

The second time Yuko saw Oikawa was about a year and a half after Hallowed Nights. She didn’t run into him during the yearly festival, though she had a feeling he must have been there somewhere. She did, however, see him during a different event in town.

“Now this one’s for the little adventurers at the front – what’s the most important thing for a monster hunter to have?”

“Bravery!”  
“Strength!”  
“WEAPONS!”

The man on the stage laughed, “All of those are good answers! The thing about monster hunters is that we need all of those things, among many others, to do our jobs. Being a hunter comes with many responsibilities, and you need to have many skills. For example, if a Spidermaw ever corners you, you need to be able to slip through her undetected. Why is that..? Yeah, you there, towards the back.”

“Spidermaws are blind and they have a weak spot on their backs.” Yuko said.

“There she goes again, someone did her homework!”

The man continued with the presentation as all the town’s aspiring adventurers and hunters were gathered in the town hall. The Adventurer’s Guild, home for many of the world’s bravest, most famous people, was scouting for new recruits.

Yuko, twenty-one years old, hasn’t felt this nervous for a very long time.

When she heard that the guild would be visiting Maplewood soon, she hit the books the very same day – the same books that she had since she was a teen, and the same books she had read millions of times already. Monster manuals, maps, books about different cities and towns. The Adventurer’s Guild was strict with who they recruit, so she had to be ready.

Yuko didn’t have much of an interest in the hunter division of the guild, but they still required people to know everything there is to know. What she was interested in was the pure adventuring division – the travelers. She had gotten a lot better with her bow in the past few years, and Silver became a lot more responsive when she spent more time with him, so horse-riding was out of the way, too.

Now, all that was left was getting and adventuring license. It’s not impossible to travel without one, but it makes it incredibly difficult. Most stores have guild-only stock which they’re not allowed to sell to the general public, including tools and weapons that would make adventuring a breeze. Most taverns and inns had deals with the guild to make sure all the members of the guild were well looked after.

Most importantly, the guild had the knowledge. If Yuko were to simply set out on an adventure, where would she go? Pick a direction and hope that there’s something out there? The guild was an information hub for the whole world – places of interest, places where you can find treasure and magical artifacts – the guild knew them all.

Yuko caught herself daydreaming about beautiful waterfalls and vast forests for the twentieth time today, shook her head and started paying attention to the presentation again. The Adventurer’s Guild only visited once before, when Yuko was only twelve. They stole her heart back then, and they still have it now – this was her only chance to join them.

“That’s it for my part! We have one final presentation left, so I’ll pass you over to my colleague.”

The men on the stage shuffled about a little, and soon a tall, well-built man came on stage to address everyone.

“Good evening. My name is Ushijima Wakatoshi. I am currently the leader of the demon hunter division.”

 _Demon hunters…_ Yuko thought, her mind immediately bringing up the only demon she had the pleasure of meeting.

“Many of you might ask why we are a separate division from the monster hunters, as demons still fall under the monster category. It’s not so much separate, as it is a step-up from monster hunting – to put it lightly, demon hunting is much, much more dangerous and difficult. We only allow the best of the best into our ranks. This is not a division you can join today, but I’m here to talk to you about it as something to consider for your future with the guild.”

He paused as his assistants swapped out the picture behind him to one that showed a standard demon – Yuko had seen the same illustration in her books.

“This is your regular demon. Horns, fangs, eyes that range from red to pure black. Some also have tails or wings, usually underlings. They’re very easy to identify, as they are the only monsters to still have human-esque figures. Though, unless any of you are demon hunters, hopefully this information won’t be useful to you. If you’re unprepared, encountering a demon is lethal. Not _can be_ , is.”

Yuko swallowed harshly.

“I’m not here to scare you off, no - the first step to becoming a demon hunter is knowing how powerful and dangerous they are. That being said, let me start with this – if you do encounter a demon... you don’t have a lot of options. Here are some key facts about these vile creatures.”

His assistants swapped out the picture once again, moving on to a more broken down one with detailed illustrations.

“First, they will kill on sight. A demon never hesitates, and neither should you.”

Yuko shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. Memories of Oikawa _fleeing_ at the cemetery were flooding her mind.

“Second, demons are fast and determined. Running from one is not an option, because a human being, no matter how well-trained, will never have as much stamina as a demon has. Once they have their target, they will not stop until it’s dead.”

The girl pressed her lips together. That’s… not what happened to her - contrary to what he's saying, Oikawa gave up chasing her the same day.

“Third, they will want to get close to you at all times – their goal is to bite you. If you plan to fight back, keep your distance. They share a few similarities with vampires, one of which is that they drink blood – they don’t _need_ it, but it seems to give them a boost of energy, from what we have observed. However, unlike vampires, demons also release poison through their fangs, and that poison is lethal. Once it bites you, you’re done.”

Yuko, almost unconsciously, brought her hand to her neck. Oikawa bit her. Yet she’s still here.

“Finally, they do not feel remorse, regret or anything at all. While they can understand us and can speak our language, there is no reasoning with them. Demons do not have emotions.”

_But… his eyes…_

Two things stuck with her from their meeting at the cemetery: one, that Oikawa fled, and two… that it looked like he was crying moments before she approached him.

Yuko crossed her arms and slumped in her seat a little. This didn’t feel right.

“All that said, I’m sure you are beginning to understand that there is no escaping a demon. Your best bet is to do as much damage as possible until your time is up. There is only one known instance of an untrained person killing a demon – he died, but he did quite some damage to the demon and it bled to death. We found both of them near the same lake.” he paused. “As for running, there isn’t a single known instance of anyone escaping a demon. Not even between our ranks. Once you run, you’re not a hunter anymore – you become the hunted.”

Ushijima looked at the crowd and felt the heavy mood he created with his presentation, so he started off the next part with a lighter tone.

“I’m simply telling you all of this to make sure you’re informed – not just about the demons, but about the hunters, too. By now, I’m sure you all realize that this title is highly praised, as the job is beyond dangerous – it’s the true form of ‘high risk, high reward’. I didn’t want to frighten you - all the things I’ve talked about are to make you understand what we do and what we deal with - it’s highly unlikely that any of you will encounter a demon unless you work your way up to the demon hunter division. There haven’t been any demon sightings around these parts for centuries.”

One of the kids up front raised his hand and asked: “What about the demon living in Maple Forest?”

Yuko’s eyes widened slightly. Would the guild also consider him a rumor, an old legend?

Ushijima chuckled, “Ah, the demon of Maple Forest. A former Demon King, actually. I’m a little surprised that rumors about this creature are still brewing. That demon’s been dead for over a hundred years. Slain by our former guild-master himself, Iwaizumi Hajime.”

 _I’ve read about him…_ Yuko thought, though her mind was distracted a moment later.

Someone… snorted at those words?

Yuko looked around and noticed Ushijima giving someone a dirty look.

“Is there a problem?” he asked, addressing someone in the crowd.

“No, sorry, something got stuck in my throat. Please, continue.”

Yuko’s eyes zeroed in on the man that had just answered.

_Are you fucking kidding me?!_

It’s _him._ It’s Oikawa. He looked human again, and he was leaning on the wall to Yuko’s right, obviously holding in a laugh. He wasn’t close enough to creep her out, but surely he saw her, considering she kept being the annoying student who was answering all of the guild’s trivia questions.

Her eyes shifted back at the stage.

_There is an actual demon RIGHT THERE! He is literally laughing at you telling everyone he’s DEAD!_

Unconsciously, Yuko sunk into her seat even more. Oikawa hadn’t bothered her ever since he left that note, and this was the second time she saw the man – demon! – acting like a normal human being, but she still felt uneasy whenever he’s around.

Ushijima went on a little longer, until finally, he announced the end of their entire presentation.

“My colleagues are already setting up the recruitment desk near the stage, to anyone who wishes to sign up, please form a single line and we will speak to each and every one of you individually. Thank you for your time.”

Chatter rose as people got up from their seats - some to leave, some to sign up, and some to talk to their friends. Yuko looked around for Oikawa, but once again, like a spider, he disappeared into the shadows only to show up again when you least expect him to.

Seriously, the last place she expected to see him was at a presentation from The Adventurer’s Guild. Not to mention, at a presentation about _demon hunters._

Maybe they got the ‘no emotions’ part wrong, but he sure as hell seemed to feel no _fear._

Yuko exhaled sharply – this was no time to think about that. She got in line and tried to clear her head, leaving only vital information from the books she had been reading.

“Next!”

She stepped up to the desk, barely able to contain her smile and excitement. “Hi! I’m Yuko and I’m here to sign up!”

The mildly annoyed man sitting at the desk looked up at her. “Ah, you’re the one who kept answering all those questions... Sorry, we’re not taking any kitchen staff or maids right now, just the main recruits.”

Yuko’s smile twitched a little. “That’s… what I’m here for, I want to be an adventurer.”

The man snorted, “Pff yeah, and what, leave your husband to watch over the kids?”

“I… don’t have any kids.” she raised an eyebrow at him.

He squinted at her, blurting out, “…Why?”

Yuko got a little staggered, blinking a few times. “I am not… really sure how to answer that? I just don’t? I’m not even married…”

The man blinked a few times himself, and put his forearm on the table, leaning in, “Wait… You’re being serious?”

Yuko’s smile was faltering as she nodded. The man sighed.

“Listen… I don’t want to be the one to burst your bubble but… _We don’t take women._ ”

* * *

 

The third time she saw Oikawa was three years after the last – and this time, it was fateful.

Yuko, twenty-four years old, found herself dressed in all black, standing in the middle of Mr. and Mrs. Saito’s living room.

“Thanks again for helping with the funeral, Yuko.” a man, about twenty or so years older than her, said. “Are you all done with the attic?”

“Yeah.” she said, “I found a few books… Are you sure it’s okay for me to take them?”

“Of course.” he assured her, “Anything you need from there, help yourself. My aunt loved you like her own – she’d be happy for you to take them. That, and she also made me promise I’d make you take at least something. She doesn’t have a lot of people to leave things to, not after my cousin and uncle passed away.”

“Actually… I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” Yuko said, eyeing the painting on top of the fireplace. She had been eyeing it all evening, actually. “Were you and Mei close?”

“Oh, no, not at all, I barely knew the girl.” Mei’s cousin said, shaking his head, “I never got to visit when I was younger, it’s a long trip. Well, you’ll be seeing a lot more of me now that auntie dropped her entire business on me. Which reminds me, we’ll need an extra pair of hands, so if you’re ever looking for work, there’s always something for you to do here. She always said you were a lot of help around here.”

“Thank you, I’ll help out with what I can, but, um… About Mei - would it be alright if I took that painting?”

He turned his head at her, questioningly. “Sure, but what on earth do _you_ need it for? You were really young when she passed away, weren’t you?”

“I was.” Yuko went over to the fireplace, carefully taking the painting down. “It’s not for me. I just… know someone who might want to have this.”

* * *

 

**NOTES:**

First – CAN EVERYONE SEE THE DEMONIC TEXT OKAY? It seems to be showing up fine on both my laptop and phone, but if it’s broken for anyone let me know. I’d love for that to be my brand on this fic but if it’s broken I’ll replace it with something else.

Anyway, I promise I haven’t abandoned 98 percent, I just really needed to get this out of my system. This AU has been stuck in my head for SO long… There’s barely any Demonkawa x reader/oc fics out there, _someone’s_ gotta make the content!!

And, honestly, I needed a fresh start – I love working on 98P but sometimes ya just need a breather.

I’ll be updating both 98P and this at the same time – this one will probably have slower updates as the chapters are much longer than my other fic.


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